1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to power saws and more particularly to a guide and support device for such a saw which facilitates the cutting of a work piece at any desired angle.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is highly desirable to have a guide for a circular power saw to facilitate the sawing of work pieces, which are usually pieces of lumber, at various angles. Guides have been developed in the prior art for this purposes such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,596,524 issued May 13, 1952 to Bridwell; U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,453 issued May 14, 1985 to Parham, Jr.; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,735,456 issued Feb. 21, 1956 to Grier, et al.
While the devices of the above patents all enable the sawing of a work piece at a desired angle, none provides a simple and accurate adjustment mechanism for achieving this end result. Bridwell while it has a spring mechanism for raising the saw guide above the piece to be sawed, in Bridwell, the angular position to which the saw can be set is limited to a selected series of spaced apart positions determined by positioning notches which engage a latch. The angle at which sawing can be done is thus limited to the selected positions determined by the notches. In the Grier patent, angular adjustment of the saw can be achieved but again only to preselected discrete positions determined by spaced apertures which are engaged by an adjustable plunger. While, Parham, Jr. has a pulley device for setting the sawing angle to any desired angle, this device is rather complicated and employs pulley cords in its implementation which are readily subject to breakage.